Healthy, wealthy, and wise, my foot

"Healthy, wealthy, and wise" is a well-known idiom that emphasizes a fulfilling and successful life that encompasses physical, financial, and mental well-being. It's not just about having riches; it's about possessing the wisdom to make sound judgments, manage finances responsibly, and prioritize health. The more complete saying, "early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise," attributed to Benjamin Franklin, also reflects this idea, emphasizing the importance of good habits and discipline for overall success. 

Back in the early years of Earth's formation when I was young, my friends and I would negate a sentence or phrase by adding the words "my foot" to the end of it. By and by, I got older and the words were changed to "my ass" before (to the best of my knowledge) leaving the lexicon entirely. 

Now, we have the complete picture. Most who know me believe it when I say that the early to bed and early to rise part applies. So much so, that I ought to be the healthiest, wealthiest, and wisest bloke around. But am I? My foot.

Yes, my foot. It's acting up again. It hasn't been right since my Achilles Tendonitis surgery four years ago. Don't get me wrong. I'm still glad I did it. Since my recovery, I've been able to run again, mostly pain-free. But due to the lasting nerve damage, my right foot has been numb. This has caused other problems, including strange pains and injuries. For the past month, swelling and toe pain have increased. I don't think it's slowed me down much. Yet. 

Recently, I began volunteering with Habitat for Humanity. It's hard work for an old guy like me, but it's also rewarding, and I'm happy to do it. But being on my feet for hours and working hard in the heat is not working out so well for that right foot. Now, besides the numbness, there's swelling as well.

For today's volunteer gig, the swelling was particularly bad. I'm sure that waking up at 2:19 AM to run eight miles on the mill before meeting friends to run ten more at Lake Medina was not a factor here. Hey, I really wanted to get a long run in today. I didn't really intend to wake up quite so early, but it was a case of, I'm awake, I may as well run longer. All this before starting work at the build site at 8:30 AM. So no, it wasn't the running, just the H for H physical labor that's causing the problems.

My foot.